In the first few months of life an infant lacks the ability to finely coordinate the movement of its limbs. In particular, a very young infant has not yet acquired sufficient manual dexterity to manipulate an infant's feeding bottle. If a predextrous infant is left to feed from a baby bottle without adult supervision, the infant frequently drops the bottle and is unable to retrieve the bottle and reinsert the nipple into its mouth. Even if the infant does not drop the bottle, the infant may be distracted and put the bottle aside for a period of time. When the infant wants to resume feeding it will again face the challenge of retrieving the bottle and reinserting the nipple into its mouth.
One solution to the problem of an infant's inability to dextrously manipulate its feeding bottle is to have an adult in constant attendance while the infant is feeding. This solution may be infeasible when, for example, the adult is supervising other children. Another solution to the problem of an infant's inability to dextrously manipulate its feeding bottle is to utilize a device that holds the bottle while the infant is feeding, i.e., a baby bottle holder. A number of problems must be addressed, however, when designing and constructing a baby bottle holder.
A baby bottle holder must be stably attached to a support surface in order to prevent an infant from inadvertently pushing the bottle holder out of reach, or causing the bottle holder to fall onto the infant's body. Although a baby bottle holder constructed from a dense, heavy material will be more difficult for an infant to dislodge, there is the inherent danger that if a heavy bottle holder falls onto an infant it will cause serious injury. Thus, a baby bottle holder should preferably be constructed from a lightweight material that is securely attached to a support structure located in the vicinity of a feeding infant. Ideally, a baby bottle holder should be securely attachable to a wide variety of structures, such as a baby's high chair or a baby's car seat. Additionally, the height of a baby bottle holder should be adjustable so that the bottle can be presented at the correct height to children of different sizes, or to the same child as it grows.
A baby bottle holder should support the bottle at an angle that permits the milk to flow to the nipple-end of the bottle under the force of gravity. Additionally, the angle of the bottle relative to a feeding infant should be adjustable to ensure that the nipple attached to the bottle is presented at the optimum angle to facilitate feeding.
Since an infant often spills milk, or other liquid nutrient, while feeding, a baby bottle holder should be constructed from a material, or covered with a material, that is washable. If a baby bottle holder is covered with a washable material, the cover can optionally be removable to facilitate cleaning.
Finally, a baby bottle holder should ideally present a pleasing and stimulating appearance to the infant, for example through the use of bright colors, toys attached to the holder or by designing the bottle holder itself in the form of an animal or other attractive and entertaining shape.
Further, although a baby bottle holder is especially adapted for use with a predextrous infant, a baby bottle holder can also be used with an older child that has acquired sufficient manual dexterity to manipulate a feeding bottle. In the case of the older child, tha baby bottle holder conveniently supports the baby bottle while permitting the child to direct its attention to its environment. In this way, the child does not inadvertently drop the bottle when distracted by some other event.